[tkrik]

DD21 just got a puppy. He's a cute little thing but . . .This little guy is having some issues. First of all, the owner of the mom dog gave all the puppies away at 6 weeks, which is a little young - doable but young. So, DD21 has had the puppy now for a week. He's a smart dog and is catching on to some things but, and here comes the trouble, he's having some digestive issues, basically loose stools. They originally were feeding him Puppy Chow but switched brands to Wellness. That is when the loose stools started. He's trying really hard to be a good boy but is having some accidents on the carpet.

I'm over here today hanging out in the a/c and, honestly, I have cleaned up 4 accidents today. He did go outside once and made it to his puppy pad all the other times. Of course, he still thinks he might get a treat after having an accident and waits by the kitchen counter and then looks sad when he doesn't get a treat. haha

Anyhow, do any of you have any recommendations for either a better food for him or a better way to incorporate the new food. And, btw, his "sister" was over visiting with her owner on Saturday, ate the same Wellness food and had the same reaction afterward. So we are thinking it's the food.

(Jules, sent you a PM about this but after the big mess I just cleaned up I decided to post a thread. Of course, DD21 left for work about an hour ago and that left me to clean this up. )

[Erin524]

Dont suddenly switch his foods over. You need to slowly introduce the new food by mixing the old food with the new food and gradually lower the amount of old food in the mix till you've gotten him switched over. Dogs can have tummy problems if you suddenly switch their food around. (not all dogs are like that, but some are) If he's been on the new food for awhile and still having problems, it's probably the food.

What's the first ingredient in his food? Usually they'll list what the main ingredient is in the food first. If it's corn, that's not great. Because corn is basically a starch/sugar. Not really good for dogs. (ever give a kid a bunch of sugar candy? same effect on dogs) They need real protein. (chicken, beef, lamb) Is his food a puppy food, or an adult food?

What breed is he? (pictures! I wanna see the puppy!!!)

At 6 or 7 weeks (if I read the post right) a puppy isnt going to have the control to hold "it". You need to do some training. It can take a few months to get the dog trained.

What I did when my dog TinyMonsters (who never really was very tiny) was a puppy. We'd feed him, and pretty much immediately take him outside. We had one spot that we'd take him every time (a little corner of the yard that wasnt walked in much) and we'd tell him to "hurry up" (code word for "poop") and when he would "produce", we'd tell him "good hurry up!"

If he doesnt "go" after a little bit when you take him outside, take him inside and put him in his crate for a bit. (10 or 20 minutes) Then take him outside and try again. Puppies/dogs dont like to use their sleeping areas as bathrooms, so he'll learn to hold it sooner or later. Puppy pads arent the best thing to use, because it basically teaches the dog to do it in the house. You want him to do it outside, so he should be going outside to do it.

This is how we got Tiny trained to poop and pee on command. Eventually the code/command word ended up just being "go poop" and "go pee". But we kept him to one area of the yard for going to the potty. (took him on a leash) Makes it easier to find it when you want to clean your yard if it's all in the same general area. Less of a chance of finding "landmines" too.

It was great to be able to tell Tiny to go to the bathroom on command. Made it easier to get him to finish up if we had to leave to go somewhere in a hurry.

You have to be consistent tho. I thought it was a pain in the butt when Tiny was a puppy, but it did make it so much easier with him if we stayed consistent in his training.

We also taught him the "wait" command. (useful for keeping him from running out into the street, or from snatching up something non-food off the floor)

I really miss having a dog sometimes...or I at least really miss TinyMonsters.

edit: I went and looked up the food. Puppy Chow is mostly corn, and corn is hard for puppies to digest sometimes. The Wellness food looks like it might be pretty good, since the first three ingredients were a protein (turkey, chicken meal and salmon) He may just be having a little trouble adjusting to the new stuff because it's more than just corn meal.

[Jodylee]

Sorry Trish, I know much about cat problems but not much about dogs. My cats have had problems with certain foods though.

I'm sure you'll hear from plenty of dog people though. Good luck!

[tkrik]

This is Riley! One picture, is before DD21 took him home. The other picture, where he's stretched out is right after his 1st bath. His fur is fluffier than that.

He's a mix - Australian Shepherd/Heeler/Border Collie. I just love his blue eyes. And, he such a playful little guy. He's also very smart. It took DD21 one night to teach him to sit. He now does it easily on command and without getting a treat.

[tkrik]

Erin - Thanks for the tips. I will let DD21 know. I do think it is the switch in food. She wanted to do it slowly but her bf said no just give him the new stuff. She is going to start mixing the Puppy Chow in with the Wellness. She found out about the corn and that's why she switched to Wellness (some girl at the pet store highly recommended it).

[Jomar]

Oh cute
that's a high energy mix of breeds, we've had an Aussie, and 2 lab/border mixes, and grand parents had a few Heelers in the past. All of them were quite hyper about fetching , chasing and chewing LOL.
Lots of balls and chew toys will be a big help when he gets older.

It does sound like the food change was too abrupt for a lil one.

And we did this with our pups,

when they wake up - go outside to potty
after meals - go outside to potty
after a drink- outside to potty

into the crate at bedtime. or a small dark quiet room will work.

[aussiemom]

I was owned by an Australian Shepherd for 14 1/2 years. He was the most destructive puppy I ever had. You will have your hands full. I am currently owned by a Maltese. I hang on a Maltese board, and they all agree that Wellness is an excellent food. I've given small amounts to my diva, she likes it. But you really should make the change gradually, and maybe moisten it with warm water to make a mush. His teeth probably aren't in fully. At that age he needs to eat at least 3 times a day, then out to potty. He shouldn't be exposed to other dogs untill he's had all his shots at 14 weeks. When he's old enough, don't put him on Heartguard for heartworm. It can build up onthe herding breeds, become toxic and kill them .

Whew! Sorry I'm such a blabber mouth tonite.

[tkrik]

He is a little cutie! And yes, I forewarned DD21 that those breeds are high energy and need to be busy all he time. They are herders and it is evident even at his young age. When we (DD21, DD19, and myself) took him on walks, he kept trying to keep us all together. If someone fell behind, he would look around for them and wait for them to catch up. It was cute. He does hate his leash but DD21 is working with him on that. He also hates to go outside. He'll get used to it.

It's a good thing that DD21 is a high energy person and always going somewhere and doing something. She does hate to put him in his crate but knows what will happen if she doesn't. Not only in regards to house training but he will chew everything up. Chew toys are a must for not only him but most puppies. They crate him at night and when they are gone. As soon as they are up and/or get home, they take him outside right away. But, again, he is pretty stubborn about going outside. He and I had a standoff today. He stayed by the front door looking at me and I stood a little further away looking at him. I could not coax him to come to me or to walk so we just stood there looking at each other. I finally gave in when he started getting antsy and freaking out a little when a loud truck went by.

[Erin524]

If he's younger than 12wks old, he's still in the fear stage.

My dog Tiny, came home with us at 6 or 7 weeks. Waaaaay too young! We had no idea what the fear stage was until after poor Tiny got traumatized by the nasty neighbor down the street slamming his beat up car door and screaming swear words at us as we were walking past his house one day. From that day on, Tiny was terrified of people who yelled or swore. He really did not like a certain word that starts with the letter "F" if you said it with a certain inflection. (poor TinyMonsters!)

Hopefully you wont end up with a traumatized puppy like I did.

TinyMonsters was a bouvier des flandres, a cattle herding breed from Belgium. (these dogs did all sorts of jobs. They were also ambulance dogs for the Allies in WWI. Germans had standing orders to shoot them on sight. Nearly wiped out the breed) Tiny required a LOT of walking, but he was also lazy as hell. (bouviers are easy going and will be lazy bums if you let them) If we didnt take him for a walk, he was a happy guy and slept at our feet. As soon as you mentioned "walk" tho, you HAD to take him or suffer the very serious consequences. (he'd sit and stare at you, and bark and then grab your hand or the side of your pants and drag you to the door)

You can see the aussie in your pictures of Riley. He's got the face and eyes. He looks a little devious too. Like he's just waiting for you to leave him alone with the furniture so he can chew it up. Hope your daughter has the energy to handle him.

Her boyfriend should have let her do what she wanted with the new dog food. Sounds like she was trying to get Riley acclimated to the new food the right way.

[tkrik]

Aussie - Thanks for the info. These breeds can be destructive, especially if they get bored.

Erin - That's why I didn't push the walk too much. We just stood there and I let him explore a little. Then he would go so far and run back to the door. Little by little. DD21 said he likes to take walks when there is a group of people. Yesterday when I was over there he loved his walk and wanted to keep going. And yes, you can see he is going to be a little devious. DD21 will have her hands full in another week or so. I've been going over there because she has a/c (we only have an evaporative cooler and it doesn't work well when it's real humid). She's been enjoying it because she gets to sleep in some. She's been getting up at 4:30 a.m. to take him out to do his business and then again around 7:00 a.m. to do his business. I told her it's like having a baby.